Tag Archives: spring in Hamburg

So, here I am, set to do home office for two weeks. This morning the sun was shining and spring was clearly in the air. I felt warm during my walk to work, encouraged by my slightly heavier backpack, which I’d loaded with extra snacks and my own bowl for having soup in, some other necessities that seemed sensible in these times. The irony is that a few hours later I was walking back home in the now brilliant spring sunshine, additionally loaded down with stuff from my office desk.

I wasn’t the only one, of course. The development wasn’t entirely unexpected, considering what’s been happening in other European countries, and in Germany, stacking up day after day. It’s just we still didn’t know when exactly and if we’d have to switch our work MO around. That walk on Monday morning already felt a bit surreal, even as I was telling myself I’d be doing that regularly instead of taking the bus or the train, get fit for spring and all that stuff. And then later it was still strange, this joint effort made by many, but leading to this period of careful self-isolation.

What truly moves me, of course, is how people around me have been handling the situation in recent weeks. With calm honesty, humor and the ever-present German efficiency. No fuss, no hysteria, no blame. And no matter how many times it’s repeated, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the simple kindness of that phrase, “Stay safe and healthy.”

Now I’m one of those people reading articles online about how to not go crazy while working from home. In addition to that, I do worry, because I care, as many others do: about loved ones, the future, being able to deliver in these new working conditions and not losing my grip on what I do outside of work hours. I think one of the hardest parts is trying to stay in the now in combination with the unavoidable thoughts about the next days, because the uncertainty is there. But so are the facts. And these are…

Like this:

I took this picture this past weekend on an absolutely gorgeous sunny day in Hamburg. The blue sky was reflected in the Alster lake and it seemed like the whole city was outside, walking, smiling, laughing, even, because…well, why not, and what else were we supposed to do, really? You can only buy so much toilet paper these days.

A little over two weeks ago my daily life started to change day by day, as it did for everyone else. On that Friday the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported in Hamburg. Until then I had been reading the news about what was going on in other countries, in Europe as well as the world, and while I was certainly being attentive, watchful, obviously internal feelings change once something like this reaches your hometown. Things you read take on a new significance and you begin to wonder what will happen. Then some of what you were wondering about does happen, and all you can do is adjust along the way.

As of now Hamburg has introduced many preventive measures seen in other cities around the world to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Theaters, museums, clubs, bars, libraries, fitness studios have been closed. All public and private events have been cancelled or postponed. The company operating the swimming pools I go to has closed all its locations. Schools and daycare centers will be closed starting March 16. Universities have postponed the start of classes. Regional train frequency in northern Germany is being reduced due to lower passenger numbers.

It’s a daily trickle of various numbers and announcements, checking which has quickly become a natural habit one can’t avoid picking up. I can’t help thinking what it was like to try and get accurate information in other times, other decades, because this isn’t the first pandemic the world has seen, but it’s certainly happening at the height of the internet, mobile device usage and social media influence. While in many ways this is a relief, because we have quick ways of informing ourselves at our fingertips and therefore might end up feeling a little more in control of the situation, it also reinforces the constant challenge, even responsibility to ourselves in this day and age, namely being sensible when picking sources of information.

Another aspect, of course, is staying in touch with loved ones, friends and family. It’s an enormous blessing to be able to do this through the phone, video calls or texting, because not communicating at all or waiting for the next letter to arrive, like in the olden days, would be very hard indeed. It’s heartening that normal conversation does still happen.

“Social distancing” is a phrase I haven’t used before, but now I guess I won’t be able to forget it. I’ve only just realized my hug count has gone down dramatically, and it’s “only” been two weeks. It’s strange to think that I don’t know for sure how long it will be until I wrap my arms around someone, shake a hand or even just touch a friend’s arm while sharing a laugh. Even while my brain knows why, it’s almost as if not me, but someone else is stopping a few feet short of the person I need to talk to.

What’s certain, however, is that the desire to be healthy and safe is immediate, maybe even primal. On the other hand (no pun intended), I’ve been brought up to follow standard hygiene rules and cleaning surfaces has always been my thing, so that part I didn’t need to be reminded about, even though it’s always good to refresh that the basics are often the most important start to nip some things in the bud. Or at least diminish unpleasant developments.

Being an introvert and having many, many years of Siberian winters behind me, it’s familiar, amusing even, to read up on tips how to occupy yourself during longer periods spent at home. But I appreciate the attention, because it reinforces the feeling that everyone is thinking of the same things and trying to proceed as normally as possible. I’m also feeling thankful for my roots providing me with ultimately useful memories to fall back on.

It’s obvious now just how active we were only a few weeks ago, because even if you ended up spending a Saturday mostly at home, you didn’t have to think twice about popping out to a restaurant or the cinema. If you couldn’t make it to the gym, you’d plan for another day. Time for YouTube workouts! Looking up concerts and making Friday night plans was second nature, as was the certainty that there would always be something to choose from. This is one of the things Hamburg is loved for.

Times are different for now, and that’s just a fact. I don’t know if we’re talking weeks or months, but I can only hope for the best. Meanwhile, I’ll be busy making lists of stuff to do outside once this whole thing is over.

Like this:

Your favourite park doesn’t look like it’s sleeping anymore even if the trees are still bare, but they are not actually bare anymore, they are clearly waiting.

People are walking around with those tell-tale, increasingly ubiquitous regardless of the season stretches of bare ankle between low sneakers/ Chucks/ loafers and cropped jeans or chinos.

Jackets and coats are FLUNG open. Scarves flap in the light breeze or are discarded completely. Those daring enough sit without coats on in patches of direct sunlight. Sunglasses are worn like we do it every day.

Cafes start setting up tables outside, though with blankets discreetly draped over chairs.

There are crowds of people walking anywhere by the water, which definitely means the Außenalster (bigger Alster lake), the Elbe and the Port of Hamburg. No one will be going away for the weekend.

The sky was so blue and virtually cloudless (we always notice that here) during the day that in the evening, once it starts getting dark, the blue just deepens and you can see the almost full moon as clearly as if you painted it up there yourself.

Oh, and there was that little fact of it being 14 WHOLE DEGREES today. Let it be noted down in history that the first day of spring in Hamburg in 2019 was February 16 and it has so far lasted beyond the weekend. We’ll see what happens.